The most surprising player from each NBA team this season

San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray

The San Antonio Spurs continue to be a world class organization. They have been picking at the bottom of the draft consistently for over 20 years, yet continually find undervalued players and retool with them. Manu Ginobili was a late second round pick in 1999. Tony Parker was a late first rounder in 2001. Over the years, the Spurs also unearthed Luis Scola, Beno Udrih, Ian Mahinmi, Tiago Splitter, George Hill, Dejuan Blair, Cory Joseph, and Kawhi Leonard outside of the lottery. And with Dejounte Murray, it appears that they have continued this trend.

The Spurs considered themselves to be set at point guard for this season. Though Tony Parker has shown signs of age, Patty Mills has been improving by the year and was coming off of a strong Olympic run. Few fans expected to see much of rookie twenty-year-old first round pick Dejounte Murray. But despite playing on a veteran Spurs team, Murray has contributed as a rookie. He even made six starts during a recent extended absence by Tony Parker.

Dejounte Murray has made the most of his time on the floor thus far. He scored 24 points during a start over the Nuggets and played well in an overtime win over the Cavaliers a couple of nights later. Murray possesses a dangerously quick first step that should allow him to succeed in the league for years to come. He has also handled the point guard position well for a young player. With returns like this in his rookie season, the Spurs may have found their point guard of the future.